With the team back in Chicago and Mirotic increasing his workouts, it’s obvious he will soon be cleared to practice.

Given that management has publicly walked the fine line between giving Mirotic the time he needs to recover from injuries suffered when Portis punched him in the face Oct. 17 and making clear he must assimilate himself with the team, a hardball approach moving forward wouldn’t surprise.

Mirotic is, after all, under contract. If he chooses not to practice, he could be fined. He can’t be traded until Jan. 15, and management has made clear it only will make a move it judges beneficial for the franchise.

Bombs away: Lauri Markkanenbegan the trip with season highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds in Phoenix. He finished it shooting 9-for-40 against the Lakers, Jazz and Warriors while battling a cold and increased defensive pressure.

“I liked a lot of his looks, (but) I thought he forced a couple,” coach Fred Hoibergsaid. “Lauri on this trip did get good attempts. His shot-attempt rate was the highest on the team.

“Guys are finding him. We’re running different actions for him to try to get him the ball at different spots. He will convert. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

To his credit, Markkanen refused to use the illness as an excuse for his recent shooting woes.

“I just have to work more,” Markkanen said. “I have had a couple of nights now (when) I didn’t make shots. I had good looks, though.”

Markkanen matched up often Friday against Warriors rookie Jordan Bell, whose Oregon team beat Markkanen’s Arizona team by 27 points in February.

“There’s now two times that they smacked us,” Markkanen said. “He’s a really good defender. He’s going to do great.”

Curry clinic:Stephen Curry outscored the Bulls single-handedly in the second quarter, 26-21.

Some of his scoring came in transition or off turnovers. Other times it was when Curry was matched up against Kris Dunn, whom the Bulls are counting on as a defensive force.

“He’s a phenomenal shooter — everybody knows that,” Dunn said. “Once a guy gets rolling like that, it’s kind of hard. Just try to make it more difficult next time. You try to stick with your (defensive) principles.”

Rise and shine: The Bulls stayed overnight Friday and flew back to Chicago on Saturday, skipping practice for the travel day. They will have a walk-through before Sunday’s matinee against the Heat at the United Center.

Hoiberg said with the travel and time change, Sunday will be one of the team’s toughest games on the schedule.

“From day one, even going back into September, the biggest thing we talked about as a team was fighting through tough times and handling adversity,” Hoiberg said after Friday’s loss to the Warriors, the third-worst in Bulls history. “If we don’t learn that soon, we’re going to keep getting our ass kicked.”